Island of Terror
by JinxyBear
Summary: After two days stranded at sea, the Hetalia nations discover a deserted island. At first it seems like a miracle, but it turns out that the island is harboring a deadly secret that they aren't sure they can survive.
1. Chapter 1: Hallucinations

"This better not be a hallucination!" Prussia laughed, sank down to his knees and kissed the sand. He ruffled his soaking white hair and sighed from relief. Here was a miracle to end their horrible day. They were all finally out of the ocean. They had hope now. Food, water and shelter were theirs.

He clutched his throat. Even breathing hurt, it was so dry. He stood up on the burning sand, but his legs were so weak that he just sank down to his knees again. But he didn't mind that as he laid his head on the sand, he felt like his cheek was being cooked. He was just happy that he could rest.

He looked over at the others. America and France had England, who was frantically squirming, in a bear hug. But even if England seemed really uncomfortable, he was still slightly smiling. Italy was jumping up and down, tugging on Germany's sleeve and pointing at the expanse of island before them while Japan watched his two friends with a gleam in his eye. Russia was standing stiffly with that creepy grin of his, while China stared at him. And Canada was staring into the jungle, face scrunched with disgust. He was probably just starving.

"Hey," Prussia put his arm around Canada "Aren't you happy?"

Canada snapped himself out of his daze and quickly brushed off Prussia's arm. But he didn't turn to look at his friend, "Huh? Oh, yeah."

Prussia grunted, "What's your problem? Do you feel okay?"

He warily eyed his friend. They'd been stranded in the middle of the ocean for two and a half days. That long without food, but especially water, might have worn down on him. But Canada finally looked at Prussia and chuckled, "I'm fine, just thirsty."

The albino nodded, but the realization had hit him. Small islands like this one rarely had fresh water sources. They were surrounded by the salty ocean and the toxicity of it taunted him. But all islands had coconuts right? Maybe they could drink from those.

"England!" He called, "Canada and I are going to gather some coconuts!"

England pushed America and France off of him, walked over, and scoffed, "Idiot, do you see any coconuts around."

"It's an island. There has to be coconuts somewhere."

"You watch too much TV."

"Well what are we supposed to drink then?"

Prussia took a quick glance at Canada to see how he was holding up. His face was flushed and he was kind of hiding behind him. It was kind of adorable.

"Plants." England stated.

"What?"

"Sometimes vines store water inside. If you cut them open you can get the water. So we can go into the jungle area of the island and find them." Prussia nodded and England continued, "I think we're all pretty thirsty. Everyone can search together.

Prussia nudged Canada, "Sound good to you?"

His eyes bulged a bit, "We're going into the jungle?"

"Yeah, is that okay?" Canada hesitated before nodding.

England collected the rest of the group and they all started for the heart of the island. The further they went, the more humid it became. It felt like literally breathing water.

Swarms of flies were everywhere, and seemed particularly attracted to Canada's ears. At one point as he went to swat the fly away, he accidentally slapped Prussia. He was so embarrassed that he slowed his pace to walk behind everyone, so they wouldn't see his face go red.

On the way, Italy found some sharp rocks that could be used to cut vines and danced in delight at his contribution. England kept them and slashed at every vine he saw, but even after all these hours, every single vine had been dry. On top of that, no one had seen any fruits, or animals for meat.

Everyone took a rest from walking to give England time to brood. He started cursing under his breath as France rolled his eyes, scolding him for his attitude. Russia had wandered off to who-knows-where and Italy was still smiling from ear to ear, oblivious to the tense atmosphere. Germany was softly whistling as he gathered palm fronds and water-less vines, which Canada assumed was going to be the materials for shelter. But Canada just stood there, not knowing what he was should to do. He supposed he could help Germany, but he was so scary... There was no hope of trying to reconcile England and France, who were practically at each others' throats. And everyone else was talking to each other about anything other than survival-related topics, so the only thing left to do was find Russia. The sun had started to go down anyway, and his frightening friend should probably be brought back.

"Hey, guys…I'm going to look for Russia now." But no one answered. They didn't even turn to look at him. "Guys!" He tried to yell, but he supposed it might have only come out as a whisper. He wanted to tap someone to get their attention but everyone was still in conversation with each other. He decided that he would rather not interrupt anyone and instead, would make a quick run and come back before they left.

Canada disappeared from the vision of the group, and headed in the direction that Russia had gone off to. Navigating proved difficult because everything looked the same. The trees, the leaves, the ground… none of it changed as he marched on. He couldn't even remember which direction he had come from anymore. Maybe he was even going in circles. How long had it even been since he left? He decided that he would get nowhere if he didn't even know where he was supposed to be going in the first place, and turned back around in the direction he thought he had come from.

As time went on, it seemed as though the sky was pressing down on him, smothering him. He gasped for air but couldn't find it. His vision narrowed and everything became blurry. Then his legs gave out and he found himself lying of the jungle floor clutching at anything that might help him stand back up. But he found nothing… until he felt a hand. As soon as he grasped it, breath returned to him and his vision slowly restored. America must have noticed that he was gone, and came looking for him. He used his friend for leverage to stand up, but once he was off the ground and let go of the hand, he saw no one.

"America!" Canada shouted, but there was no reply. "Russia?" Again, there was no reply. "Who's there?" But he was only talking to himself. He figured it must be the effects of dehydration, and the whole thing must have been a hallucination. Of course no one noticed he was gone. They never did.

But before he started searching for Russia again, he heard a voice that he didn't recognize. "I'll see you soon." it said. Canada whirled around to look for the source, but the only thing he saw was a crow perched on the tree in front of him. For a moment, he forgot about what happened, and all he could concentrate on was the potential for food sitting on the tree branch. He slowly and quietly picked up the nearest stick, and hurled it as hard as he could, but as soon as the stick should have connected, the crow disappeared. It must have been another hallucination.

"Oh there you are." Trudging through the brush toward him was America. Canada wasn't sure if he believed that his brother was actually standing before him, or if this was just another hallucination, but he waved anyway. "Dude, I've been looking everywhere for you. What are you doing?"

Canada blushed and looked down, "I was looking for Russia."

America raised his eyebrow, "Huh? Russia's with everyone else back at the beach."

_He must have come back after I left_, Canada thought. The whole endeavor was a waste of time then, but at least he was doing something other than just standing around watching everyone else talk. But did they all seriously go back to the beach without him?

"Anyway," America continued, "Prussia caught a fish and we're cooking it right now. So if you want some..."

"What about water?"

America bit his lip, "We couldn't find any. But England suggested digging a hole in the ground tomorrow. Apparently it will be kind of like a well, and I guess there's a chance we might find water at the bottom or something."

Canada wondered if he would even be able to help dig the well the next day. He was already hallucinating. He might not have his head then. When he realized that America was staring at him, waiting for a response, he nodded, maybe a bit too fast.

America eyed him suspiciously, "Yeah, so, let's go back and eat before everyone else steals our share."

Canada was surprised that America knew where he was going in the dense jungle. But eventually the dirt turned into sand, and in the distance was a fire blazing with England, France, China, Russia, Germany, Italy, Japan, and Prussia sitting around it, mauling into their fish.

America sprinted toward the fire, "England, where did my fish go?" he yelled.

England jumped up and held his hands out, "I didn't take your bloody fish! It's right there!"

Canada shook his head at the two and sat down next to Prussia and Italy. Italy didn't seem to notice him, but Prussia punched his arm. "Ow…"

"Where were you?" the albino laughed, but suddenly his face went flat, "You look like you saw a ghost. You okay?"

Canada didn't feel okay. His throat felt like it was on fire, and he was worried about dehydration. But other than that, he supposed he was fine. He was still alive after all. "I'm okay."

Prussia stared at his friend a little longer, trying to tell if he was actually being truthful, but other than being pale, he looked fine. Prussia gave it up and tore into the rest of his fish, and groaned when he finished it all.

Canada realized he hadn't even started on his own portion of the fish, but didn't see where it might be. "Um…" He looked around but no one paid him any mind. "My fish…"

Russia grinned at him, "Oh I saw the extra food and thought no one had claimed it. I'm sorry, comrade."

Canada sighed, but not loud enough for anyone else to hear. He clutched his stomach, and when it started growling he whispered for it to shut up. Prussia chuckled, but he couldn't tell if it was because of what he said or not.

The warmth of the flames was soothing, and Canada found that his eyelids became heavier by the minute. His body relaxed, and he told himself that he would only close his eyes for a few seconds, but those seconds became minutes, and soon he didn't even remember how long it had been. After a while he couldn't hear the others' voices anymore, and he knew he was dreaming. In the dream he saw the crow from earlier.

"Soon." It was the same voice he heard in the jungle. Before he could ask who it was, he woke up to the break of dawn… and to France and England's bickering.


	2. Chapter 2: Raven

"Oh, bloody hell!" England kicked at the ground. How many hours had they been working on the damn thing? They had started at the crack of dawn and it was already noon! And yet the hole was so shallow that there was still grass growing in it.

Despite Canada's fear that he would have lost his mind by the morning, his brain seemed to be functioning okay. But physically, he was worse than yesterday, if that was even possible. No one said anything about it, probably because they didn't even notice. It wasn't as if he was being lazy though. Barely ten minutes in he was panting like a dog and the world spun with those purple dots…Even now that he was resting, he didn't feel much better…Maybe if he took a quick nap he would have some more energy… He made an effort to slow his breathing and leaned his head against the tree's trunk, flicking an army ant off that crawled too close to his face. He closed his eyes and tried to block out England's cursing. But right before he was about to drift into unconsciousness, he was startled by a booming voice in his ear.

"Dude…" Even though it was softer than usual, it still ear shattering. Canada recognized the voice, even without having to open his eyes. America sat down right next to him, but Canada scooted away from him a little, a sign that he didn't want to be bothered. It wasn't that Canada didn't want to spend time with his brother, he just really felt like he was going to pass out, and didn't want to do it while America was trying to talk to him. Surprisingly enough, America remained silent, except for his rapid breath that seemed to tear in and out of his lungs.

His eyes seemed to focus on something that wasn't there and he kept spitting on the ground. Canada understood the need to spit. There was a bitter, rotten taste to his saliva now. The remainder, though scant, was just enough to drive someone insane. Soon, Germany came over to the tree, carrying Italy who was fast asleep. His hollowed out eyes made him look like someone else. After them, Prussia sauntered over and sat down next to Germany. He lazily lifted his fist to punch Germany in the arm, though it turned out to be more of a gentle pat. England finally noticed that they were giving up on the well and glared at everyone by the tree.

"What the hell do you think you're doing? We need to keep digging if we want water. You know - to survive!" Russia, China, and Japan gave England apologetic looks as they joined everyone else at the tree.

Japan hesitated as though he was contemplating staying to help England, but he eventually gave into the strain on his body, and whole-heartedly gave up. That only left France, who looked as though he was using all of his energy to just stand. His knees shook as he sighed almost inaudibly. "I'm sorry, Angleterre." With that, he plopped down, almost falling into the hole.

England didn't seem any healthier than the others. There was no color to his face and he had a lost look in his eyes, like he wasn't totally grounded in reality… which was just the case. Something about this island didn't seem to be real, and every once in a while he had a horrible feeling in the pit of his stomach that he usually associated with dark magic. But that couldn't be the case. Out of him and his fellow companions, he was the only one who was even interested in magic, and if by chance there _was_ someone else, they probably wouldn't even know what dark magic was. So England dismissed that thought quickly and assessed his own condition.

England was probably worse off than anyone else, but he didn't plan on giving up so easily. Everyone else could just accept their fate and die, but no. Not him. He was going down fighting, even if it meant… meant... what was he thinking? Oh, right. America. Yes, the little twat needed to return his 'Doctor Who' collection. "Amrca… yneed ta… Who…" And then everything became dark.

Everyone had seen his collapse. While most of them were truly concerned about their friend, they simply couldn't bring themselves to get back up. Instead they took England's fainting spell as a sign to go to sleep themselves. Soon, one by one, they all drifted off into slumber.

"Yes, very soon." the mysterious voice echoed in Canada's dream. But this time he thought nothing of it. It was only his imagination.

"Dude, come on!" It was America's voice. But Canada didn't care. He could wait until after he was done sleeping to tell him all about aliens or whatever. His eyes flew open when his body was painfully wrenched back and forth by his brother, only to involuntarily shut again when the shaking halted. Everywhere on his body ached, and he really didn't want to move. He didn't even want to open his eyes. When he tried, it felt like gravity concentrated more on his eyelids than anywhere else on earth. When he did open his eyes, he saw America leaning over him, but in the blink of an eye Canada couldn't see his face anymore, because it was buried in his shoulder.

"Are you… crying?" Canada asked in a raspy whisper; he couldn't believe it. He had never witnessed his brother crying. What could have happened to make him so upset? He tried pushing his brother off of him, but that just made him hug him even tighter. Canada awkwardly patted his brother's back, "What's wrong?" England's voice projected over America's sobbing, but Canada couldn't see him. "You weren't waking up. Just like…" England sighed. He couldn't finish his sentence. He couldn't say the name.

"Who? Just like who?"

Canada thought. Was someone dead? No. No one could die. It just couldn't happen. Stuff like that only happened to other people. Not his friends. Not _nations._ "I'm so sorry… He's still… He's not… But…" America blubbered into his brother's shoulder. Canada laughed nervously, "What are you talking about?" "_Who is it?! Just give me the name!" _He screamed in his head. "He won't… He's… I'm sorry…"

Canada accepted the fact that no one was going to tell him who they were talking about. Though his bones screamed for him not against the weight and force of America, he forced his brother off of him so he could look around. They were still in the spot they had all fallen asleep in. England returned to a circle made up of everyone other than Canada and America. It looked like they were huddling around something, or someone. There was a lot of sniffling coming from one person, but even though the others weren't crying, everyone else had a somber expression. _"Oh no…_" Canada thought, _"Someone died. Who died?! I can't see!"_ He decided to count everyone off. Only one person was missing, so whoever was missing was the person everyone was huddling around. Okay so America was here with him… in the circle was England, France, China, Russia, Japan, Italy… Germany was holding that person's hand to his face. There was only one person that it could be.

"PRUSSIA!" Canada stumbled whilst trying to run over to him. Everyone turned to him in shock. He was so loud. Had he ever been that loud before? He squeezed his way through the circle and there, lying on the ground was Prussia. His lips were starting to turn blue and he wasn't sure if his stomach was moving with breath or not. Canada was trembling as he put two fingers on his friend's neck. _There was a pulse._ It was faint, but he still alive. He sighed with relief as someone put their hand on his shoulder. "He's not waking up, but he's still alive…" _For now_. That's what France meant to say at the end, but he couldn't squash Canada's hope.

"It's time." Canada snapped to attention. It was that voice again. "Who's there?!" Everyone quizzically stared at the blonde. "Please! You have to help us!" "Canada, who are you talking to?" England slapped his face a little. He might still be dreaming. "PLEASE! I'LL DO ANYTHING!" Now he was sobbing hysterically. To the others, it must have seemed as though he was having a fit of sorts.

He couldn't see through his tears to check where the voice was coming from. He wiped them away and stood up. "Where are you?!" On the tree in front of him was the crow. It cawed and stared at Canada pointedly, as if to say 'I know something you don't'. The look it was giving him wasn't human. That crow knew something. It flapped its wings and lifted off of the branch. It hovered in the air and Canada stepped around his friends, slowly making his way toward the bird.

He had never been very fond of birds, due to a traumatic experience when he was little at the beach. A group of seagulls assaulted him to steal his food. A part of him was screaming to run away, but the rest of him knew that this bird might be able to save his friend. How silly was that? A bird saving a human… But Canada was going to take any chance he got. "Where the bloody hell are you going? Get back here!" England's voice seemed to be far away as Canada focused solely on the bird.

Canada didn't hear him. He sprinted toward the bird as it flew away into the heart of the jungle. He ignored the various scrapes and cuts that now decorated his face and hands as he tripped over his own feet and was repeatedly whacked with foliage. He was surprised at how fast the crow flew, granted it was smaller than what he imagined a crow to be. He couldn't help but marvel at its beauty. As he looked at it, he found it was impossible to tear his eyes off of it. "Canada!" He thought he heard someone call his name, but it was so distant, barely audible. He didn't care anyway.

And after some time of following the strange bird, they reached a cave on the side of a cliff. The ocean water to his right did not meet a sandy beach. It met sharp rocks, and violently sprayed the cliff with white foam. The crow hovered in the air and turned around to see that Canada was still following it, before proceeding into the cave. Canada hesitated before chasing after it into the utter and complete darkness. And it was _totally_ black.

The second he entered the cave, it felt like he went blind. He turned around to see the daylight of the cave's entrance, but even that did not reach inside the cave. He heard the crow's wings flapping and tried to walk in the direction he heard it coming from, but the sensation of blindness made him too dizzy and he dropped to knees.

"There's no way I can find you in here." Canada pleaded, "Please, I need a light."

"A name." said the voice. "What?" "Give me a name." "S-Sir…" Canada stuttered, "I am Canada. And you…" "I meant, I want you to name me. Tell me what you would like to call me." _"Well that's weird. Why doesn't he just give me his actual name?" _"Uhh…" Damn, what was a good name? "Raven." It was the first thing that came to his mind, and he mentally face palmed. This man was going to think that he thought his pet crow was a raven.

The voice chuckled. "I didn't expect you to be so funny. Very well, I am now 'Raven'." Canada had so many questions he wanted to ask this person. He tried to find the right question for this moment, but he doubted every single one of them. He then realized how long there had been silence. "Are you still here?" "Yes," the voice laughed, "I am waiting for you to ask the question that has been troubling you the most." Canada was confused. Which question was he talking about? The voice sighed drily, "You are very curious about my identity aren't you? And why I am here on this island. But that isn't the question you want to ask me the most. Quite frankly, you really don't care who I am, so long as I can make you a certain promise, yes?"

"Can you save my friend? He's dying… Maybe some water or food or shelter… Anything." The voice scoffed, "Just the one friend then?" Canada panicked and quickly answered, "No! No, I have more friends! They aren't well either!" "So you would like me to save all of your friends? Is that it? You want them to live." Canada sighed from relief. "Yes." "I can do what you ask… for a price." Canada's heart sank, "I don't have anything to give you. When I get back home though, I have lots of things, like pancakes and maple syrup that you can have." The voice chuckled darkly, "You really are very funny. But you do have something right now."

He was sure he didn't have anything on him. Confused, he fumbled in his pockets, but to no avail. "Tell me, how much would you give for me to save your friends?" Canada answered hastily, "Anything. I would give anything you want." "Anything' is a pretty wide selection. Think about this carefully." Canada had grown impatient. Prussia could die any second now. "I'm sure! I'd give you anything and everything! Just tell me what you want!"

He was on the verge of tears. Maybe Prussia was already dead. Maybe it was too late and this man couldn't help him because they had been talking for too long. "Your soul." Canada breath hitched and he was sure his heart skipped a beat. Surely this man was kidding?! He waited for the man to start laughing at his own joke, but there was dead silence. So Canada chuckled instead, "Ha… That's funny… but… what do you really want?" "I have already given you my answer." The man said this in a serious and impatient tone.

"Sir…" Canada started, hesitant to trust the man with the information his was about to give him, "I'm… I'm not a human. I wouldn't think that I would have a soul." "Is that so? Because I can assure you that you have one at the moment." Before he could speak, Canada felt like the air was pressing down on him, and he gasped for air, waving his hands in front of him, trying to find something to grab onto. "So…your decision then. You can take my offer, or you can let your friend die. I want an answer, NOW." the word now seemed to shake the walls of the cave with its intensity.

Canada could breathe a little once again, but only just enough air to speak if he wanted to. _"This isn't happening," _Canada thought, _"This is a hallucination. Or maybe it's a dream. Maybe waking up was a dream too. Right, I'm still asleep. And Prussia isn't dying. Of course he couldn't die… He's a nation. Nations can't die."_

"I'll take your silence as a no. Very well, but please, do come visit me again. I'll look forward to it." Suddenly, there was light in the cave, but there was no man. The cave was empty, minus a few spiders. "Hello?" Canada scanned the cave ten times, but there was no one except himself. It took all of his strength to keep from crying. But he reminded himself that it was just a hallucination… or a dream. Either way, it wasn't real. He realized that he could breathe again and gulped in the sweet, humid air as he jogged out of the cave and made his way toward his friends.

When he arrived, there was no circle around a dying Prussia. Instead, everyone, including Prussia, had continued digging the well. The first one to notice that Canada had rejoined them was Prussia, whose eyes widened at the sight of him. But it wasn't with excitement, or happiness. It was with worry and terror. "WHERE THE HELL DID YOU GO?! THAT WAS

LIKE, SO NOT AWESOME." He raced toward Canada and shook his shoulders, trying to rattle his head into sanity.

But Canada was confused. Prussia was asleep when he left for the cave, wasn't he? Maybe it was like what people say about being in a coma. Even though you're unconscious, you can still hear your loved ones talk to you. Oh but… Someone probably told him what happened. "I… err… thought I heard a helicopter. But how are you awake? Are you okay?" Prussia grimaced, "That bastard Russia apparently found a vine with water…" He nodded.

Even though Prussia didn't seem it, Canada was at least grateful to Russia. He looked in his friend's direction, and Russia was looking right back at him, smiling. Canada waved, and when England saw who Russia was waving back at, he hurried over.

"Hey, welcome back. Are you alright? Maybe you should just rest for the remainder of the day. You can help with the well tomorrow." Even though Canada was a worried that everyone must have thought he was crazy, he appreciated the opportunity to skip out on the back-breaking work for the day. He nodded his agreement and sat down under the same tree he rested under before. _"See? It all turned out okay. Of course, everything was going to turn out okay."_ And with that, Canada gratefully drifted off into sleep.

"Damn… he didn't go for it. At this rate… No. I'm not going to die. But next time he will definitely make the deal. I just need more time…"


	3. Chapter 3: Memories

Oh…_ it's this dream again…_

The sky was pitch-black, and so was the water. Italy flailed his arms, trying to keep his head above the waves that were crashing around him, tossing him around like a rag doll. But every time he surfaced, another wave took the place of the last, trying to smother him into oblivion.

As he was pulled under, he opened his eyes and tried to orient himself, ignoring the excruciating burn of the seawater.

Which way was the surface? Was he just swimming in the wrong direction? All he could see was just the black void of the ocean, so he committed to the direction that felt like up and swam as fast as his aching muscles would allow.

_Please wake up… _he told himself. _I don't want to see this again._

His arm bumped into something. He grabbed for it…

_Stop!_

Italy's eyes flew open as he lost his balance and tripped over a log. He looked around for the beach, where he had fallen asleep. He was shocked to see dense forest all around him. How did he get to the middle of the island?

Some bushes next to him ruffled, and in the distance he heard soft thuds accompanied by crackling leaves as someone ran by. Italy scrambled to his feet to get a glimpse of what was making the noise, but it was too dark to see more than a foot in front of his face. It must have just been some animal. The thought of the potential food source made his stomach growl, which only alerted him to how much the lack of food made his stomach burn.

He willed his legs to carry him back to the beach, but they wouldn't move. They seemed to have taken on a mind of their own as he sat down on the log he had just tripped over. He leaned back and solemnly gazed up at the moon, but the moment was ruined by a series of shouts.

* * *

"I'm starving, and I'm sure everyone else is too, so I've come up with a plan!"

"Can't we discuss this in the morning, when we've all had our beauty sleep?" France was still lying down on the sand, and didn't even bother to open his eyes.

"America…" Canada whispered softly as he rubbed sleep out of his eyes and yawned.

"Right, so I couldn't go to sleep and I am _literally_ starving over here! Since I can't sleep, I was thinking that we could go around the island and hunt for some hamburgers!"

"You woke us all up to hunt for _hamburgers_?!" China complained.

"You don't _hunt_ hamburgers, idiot! Besides, there are perfectly fine fish that we can catch." England pointed to the ocean, "So go back to sleep."

America winced and glanced at the spot he was just sleeping in. There was _no way_ he was going to fall asleep again. He quickly calmed himself down and crossed his arms, "If there are so many fish in the ocean then why haven't we caught any?"

Prussia muttered in his sleep, "The awesome me has caught a fish."

"One fish, one time!" America shouted with obvious exasperation.

"Well maybe if everyone actually did something other than lounge around all day, we would have food, but until _someone_," England glared irritably at France, "actually gets off their arse, we are all going to starve."

France was taken aback, "Don't look at me like that! I don't know how to fish!" now fully awake, he managed to shout.

"Well it's not like you need a fishing rod! Have you ever heard of a spear?" England snapped back at France.

"Umm, excuse me, but I went been spearfishing yesterday." Canada timidly said, softly raising his left hand to the height of his shoulder. When no one looked his way, he felt once again that he was being ignored and decided to drop his hand hesitantly back down by his side.

"I don't have a spear, you insufferable moron!"

"Well, what? Do you expect one to fall from the sky?! Make one yourself!"

"Why don't _you_ go fishing then? Don't blame me for all of our problems when you aren't doing anything about it either!

"Right, so if we all just followed my plan…" America jumped in enthusiastically.

"Oh shut up, America!" England snapped.

"Yeah, stop causing a commotion! Why couldn't you just let us sleep?"

"I agree with America, that we need some sort of plan to find food." Japan reasoned, now fully awake from their ruckus. Despite his usual calm demeanor, there was a bite in his words.

"No one asked your opinion, da?" Russia said, grinning at Japan and failing to scare the crap out of him.

"You guys, please stop fighting…" Canada faintly chipped in.

"EVERYONE SHUT UP!" Germany sat up unexpectedly and harshly slammed his fists in the sand, making two shallow dents that quickly filled back in, "AMERICA, GO BACK TO SLEEP. ENGLAND, SLEEP SOMEWHERE OTHER THAN RIGHT NEXT TO FRANCE. PRUSSIA, CHINA, JAPAN, AND RUSSIA, GO BACK TO SLEEP. ITALY-…Italy?" Germany scanned the area for Italy, but didn't see him in the place he was sleeping just a few hours before. He was just about to open his mouth before he was interrupted by an all too familiar panicked scream.

Italy shot out of the jungle stumbling, practically tripping over his own two feet and into the middle of the crowd. "Oh! You guys! You guys! I was getting so worried! I couldn't find my way back and the island is so scary at night and then I thought I heard this big animal but I couldn't see it which made it even scarier because what if it was a monster but I didn't know because it was too dark to see and…" Italy said hurriedly, heaving for air and waving his arms around as if he were playing charades.

"WHAT WERE YOU DOING IN THE MIDDLE OF THE JUNGLE?!" Germany scolded Italy, but his words were subtly laced with worry.

Italy's entire body tensed up as he tried to think of a good lie. _They would probably see right through it_, Italy thought to himself very worriedly. "Uh, well you see," He said nervously placing his right hand behind his head to make himself seem as if he didn't have anything to hide. "I was really thirsty so I thought I would look for some water but then the animal came and frightened me so I got disoriented and then I couldn't find my way back…"

Germany pinched his nose, "Right… just don't do that again. If you want some water, then tell me."

"Speaking of water…" Canada started, "How long has it been since we've had any?"

No one said a word and stared quizzically at Canada. England was the first to ask the question that was on all of their minds, "I'm sorry… who are you? And what are you doing here? Were you here this whole time?"

"I…what?" Surely they remembered him being there… right?

"Hey," Prussia snapped his fingers "Are you deaf? Were you just eavesdropping on our conversation? And wait, are you stranded on the island too?"

Canada chuckled, thinking it was a joke. Prussia would never forget who he was. He was the only person who had remembered him every time without fail… until now, apparently.

"Very funny you guys. I'm going to go back to sleep now." he sighed and half-fell back to the ground.

England poked him as Canada started to lie back down on the sand. "You can't sleep with us yet. We don't even know your name; let alone what you are even doing here."

They were being serious, Canada realized. They didn't remember who he was. _It must be the dehydration. It's been… let's see... Russia found some vines with water a couple of days ago, and we drank all of them dry within minutes. We didn't even think to save them for the future... We haven't had any luck since then, so we've gone two and a half days without water._

Even though his eyes were willing themselves to close, he stood up and announced, "I'm going to go find some water."

Italy clapped his hands together and beamed, "Wait, have you found water here before? We haven't had much luck yet. Could you maybe some back for us too?"

Canada forced a smile, "Yeah, I'll bring you back some water."

He strolled into the jungle of the island. It was astonishing how quickly it went from a barren sandy beach to impassable undergrowth. As he inspected the vines, he saw that every single one of them had slash marks from previous attempts to find them water-filled. He broke apart any vine in his reach, but again, they were all dry.

After what must have been about two hours of searching, Canada found a log and sat down, looking up longingly at the moon. What he wouldn't give to be anywhere but here, with nine dehydrated people who couldn't remember his name or who he was.

But maybe it isn't just the dehydration.

Canada thought, _they have forgotten my name before, and they've forgotten that I exist, but they have never completely forgotten their memories of me. Maybe it was bound to happen sooner or later. Besides, I've never done anything so important to make anyone want remember me._

"Well you wouldn't be wrong in thinking that." Canada jumped up to face a man with long blonde hair standing behind him, smirking.

* * *

Hours passed as the possibility of water diminished the tension that was once there, but too many hours had gone by now. The sun would rise soon, leaving them without the time to sleep. The strange new blonde boy had not returned with the promise to relieve their aching throats, and no one was willing to fight sleep to search for him. As the others lie down once again and shut their eyes, America tried to push away his dreams' calls.

_I have to stay awake, _America told himself, but his eyelids were so heavy. His lack of sleep from the nights before had finally caught up to him. _No… open your eyes you idiot… _He scolded. But he finally embraced unconsciousness.

_Not this dream again…_

America observed his dream-self facing a man with long blonde hair pulled back with a ribbon. He wore a red cloak and a shirt that resembled something out of the olden days. The man looked like he just walked out of a Pirate movie.

Everything around him was black. He could only make out himself and the man in front of him.

He saw himself draw out a sword and point it at the man's chest. All the man did was smile eerily and chuckle darkly, "Oh, a sword. I'm so scared." He threw his hands up as he mocked, "Is this really the best you can do?"

America saw himself grit his teeth. He gulped as he withdrew the sword, letting the tip hit the ground, an uncertain look in his eye. But he got a hold of himself, tightening his grip on the sword's handle, and in a flash he lunged for the man with the long blonde hair.

The sword went right through him, but the flesh that the sword should have carved seemed to turn into fog. It just cut through air.

Gasping at the sight, America swung again for the man's head, but this time the man completely disappeared. America frantically whirled around, searching for him. He swung his sword wildly in all directions.

Then someone with blonde hair appeared in the room, behind America. The minute America saw him appear out of the corner of his eye, he thrust his sword at his midsection.

But the America who was awake, seeing the whole thing for what must have been the third time, saw who Dream America was really swinging his sword at. "Stop!" He yelled, even though he knew his dream self wouldn't be able to hear him.

And then a pair of bright green eyes widened in shock as Dream America pulled out his sword, laughing excitedly at his success. He didn't realize...

England clutched his bleeding stomach as Dream America stopped cheering long enough to see who he had really just hit. The smile fled his face and was replaced with a look of absolute horror.

England dropped to his knees and stared at his wound. Blood soaked through his shirt, and poured into his hand. Dream America reached out for his friend...

The scene faded away and a new dream started, but this time America wasn't aware that he was dreaming.

America could even feel the waves this far underwater. He knew he had fallen into the ocean facing the surface, but he couldn't see any daylight. Not that there was any to begin with. The entire day, the sky had been black like night was.

He looked over to his right. A boy with wavy blonde hair, slightly longer than America's own, was falling deeper in the water beside him. But his eyes were closed now and he wasn't moving at all. He must have already…

_Who is he again? He seems so familiar… I don't think he came on the boat with us… did he?, _America thought.

Well… regardless of whether he had been with them on the boat, he didn't deserve to be alone in his last moments, if he even had any moments left. He reached out and grabbed the boy's hand. He felt a small squeeze before it fell limp. America smiled and closed his eyes. It was so cold…


	4. Chapter 4: Secrets

The occurrence of the strange new blonde boy lingered in the memory of a certain Italian as he patted the sand before he rested his head. He smiled at the thought of having an addition to the party of people. The more people, the safer he might be.

Italy hesitated to allow himself to indulge in the pleasure of sleep. He could sense a nightmare would be waiting for him if he did. He hoped that the dream from earlier wouldn't continue, but he somehow knew that it would.

Even so, his love for sleep, despite whatever dark visions he may have, was too great. His dreams engulfed him.

Italy's arm bumped into something. He reached out to grab it and wrapped his fingers around what felt like a bony wrist. Ferociously kicking at the water, he struggled to bring the body up to face height. His chest tightened, reminding him of his need for air as he anticipated the identity of the person that the ocean had tried to swallow.

Just as Italy pulled the limp body up to a visible distance from his face, his eyes started to feel the effects of their prolonged exposure to the salt water, and stung so badly that his eyelids involuntarily pinched shut. He hoped that despite the pain, he would be able to open his eyes just enough to catch a glimpse at this person's face. But before he could try, his lungs suddenly felt like they had burst into flame. Instinctively he opened his mouth to breathe, but quickly shut it tight and pursed his lips together to avoid the temptation to suck the water into his lungs.

Italy tried to rationally think about the situation like Germany had always tried to teach him. He needed to find the surface, so since this person had been falling further into the depths of the ocean, the surface would be in the opposite direction. He kicked with his legs, fighting the power of the waves while dragging the body behind him.

He finally felt the chilling breeze of the wind as he broke through the surface. He gasped for air and no matter how much he panted the burn of his lungs remained. All of his thoughts revolved around the need of breath until he remembered what his hand was wrapped around, and whose head was still submerged in the water. He grabbed under this person's armpit and heaved him up to the surface.

Italy's shin seared with pain as he crumbled to ground, bringing his knee up to his chin and rocking back and forth. What happened? Wasn't he just in the ocean?

_Right… _he thought, _it was just the dream._ He rubbed the spot where his leg bumped into what must have been the fallen tree that he was sitting in front of. He limped off of the ground and plopped onto the tree. How much time did he have left?

Germany couldn't quite seem to be able to fall asleep. He opened his heavy eyes and stared at the spot where Italy had fallen asleep next to him, but it was empty.

* * *

He grunted and slapped his face, trying to knock the sleepiness out of him. "That idiot." He growled, livid that Italy had broken his promise and wandered off again without his knowledge. What if he really had seen an animal? It didn't even have to be a particularly dangerous one for Italy to get himself hurt. The thought didn't even occur to Germany that an animal would be a blessing, considering how starving he and everyone else was.

He staggered to his feet and started for the jungle, promising himself that he would not return to the beach without Italy, whether or not the fool wanted to come with him.

He had never taken the time to notice how similar everything was, and how difficult it would be to navigate, especially in the dark. Before he could manage to get himself lost, he picked up the sharpest rock he could find and slashed an 'x' into the bark of a tree. After a couple more yards he slashed 'x2' into another tree, and 'x3' into the next. This continued on until Germany saw a figure sitting up against a fallen tree, holding his knees to his chest, staring at the moon.

Germany held his breath, trying not to give himself away. For a while he just stared, wondering if that could really be Italy before him. Of course, Italy was the only person missing from the group when he had woken up (besides the new kid, but Germany still half thought that he was only part of a dream). But it was so unlike Italy to want to be isolated from everyone else.

"What are you doing?" Germany sighed.

Italy jumped before turning around, beaming at the sight of Germany. He took a deep breath of relief before realizing that he needed to answer the question he had been asked. "Oh, uh…" He hadn't counted on anyone finding him, so he didn't take the time to think of a good lie. "I was thirsty and I tried to wake you up but you are so scary when you're sleeping so I just went off on my own again and now I'm tired so I'm resting."

Germany raised his eyebrows while Italy laughed nervously. "Right. Well did you find anything?"

Italy shook his head 'no' and offered a quick reassuring smile to hide the fact that his dehydration was making him miserable.

"You're not going to whine about how much you want water?" Germany asked, ready to meticulously analyze Italy's response. There was definitely something wrong with him and in the life-threatening situation that everyone was in, they couldn't afford to keep secrets.

Italy rubbed the back of his neck, "I must be so tired that I forgot."

"I find that hard to believe."

Italy leaned away and forced a smile, "What? You're forgetting to yell at me like I'm forgetting to pester you. I don't think any of us are really acting like ourselves."

"That's all I needed to hear." Germany sternly stated as he crossed his arms, "You never pick up on things like that. This is more than just feeling too tired to act a certain way. What's going on?"

Italy's eyebrows furrowed as he looked away from Germany, and back at the moon. Silence and frustration lingered in the air as both of them were too stubborn to be the first one to speak. Italy had ignored the question too long to try to deny that something was wrong, but he wasn't going to answer honestly either. "Everything's fine." He grumbled, narrowing his eyes and standing up, brushing the leaves and small bugs off of him, "Let's go look for some water."

* * *

Canada recognized the voice immediately. It was the voice he had been hearing in his hallucinations, though the man before him looked too young to have a voice so deep.

"Raven?" Canada tested out, to which the man perked up and grinned, showing off his rather small teeth.

"Ah, yes. That is the name you have chosen to call me. How solemn you look for someone so humorous." Raven crossed over to the log and sat himself down, only an inch away from sitting right on Canada's lap.

"Would you like to share your troubles, my boy?" He asked gently, as he wrapped his arm around Canada and drew him closer. Canada tried to push him away, too embarrassed to be so close to someone, since no one ever really got so near to him… unless they mistook him for America and tried to beat him to a pulp. He wasn't used to this (creepy) kind of affection.

"How did you know what I was thinking?" Canada asked, a little frightened by the idea that someone might be able to read his mind.

"I, so very stealthily, remained hidden while I listened to your conversation with those excuses of human beings. And you seem like the type of person to blame yourself for these sort of things, so I guessed." Canada doubted that Raven had correctly deduced this. He must have thought that Canada only felt invisible or something. Raven continued, "So you think you're not important? That you haven't done anything to prove yourself worthy of being remembered? What harsh thoughts, but alas, reality isn't very gentle, is she?"

_Is this supposed to make me feel better?_ Canada thought. On top of that, he was a bit annoyed that he could be read so easily by someone he didn't even know.

"Who are you?" Canada asserted. His words were strong and forceful as he sat up straight and peeled Raven's arm off of him.

"Have you also lost you memory now? I am Raven."

Canada stood up in front of him and crossed his arms, glaring right into Raven's cold black eyes. "That's not what I meant and you know it. You have the audacity to try to comfort me after what you requested in the cave earlier? How dare you! How dare you leave my friend to die when you could have done something about it! And how dare you tell _me_ that I am not important! I may not seem it, but I have done a lot more in my lifetime than you probably have! I mean look at you! You are trapped on this island like the rest of us, and for who-knows how long! And you're not even bothered by it, are you? Of course only a delusional psychopath would be okay with being stuck in the middle of nowhere without friends or family and anything else that makes you happy. Is that why you think you can take my soul? Because you're insane?! If that's the case then I pity you. At least I've kept my mind. And-"

Canada was interrupted by Raven's hysterical shrieking laughter. He was clutching his sides and rocking back and forth so hard that he fell off of the log and landed right into a puddle of mud, staining what looked to be a very expensive white shirt and equally high-class pants, though those were black anyway.

After several deep breaths, and a few girly giggles in between to calm himself down, Raven's laughter ceased and he stood up, paying no mind to his soiled clothing. He wiped a tear from his eye and chuckled, "I can't believe how funny you are! Really, please be a little more serious, would you?" His voice swung to a much higher pitch as he said this. It almost resembled a child's voice.

Canada's jaw dropped as he took a step back. Usually when he went off on tangents like that he sent the poor victim home crying. He was absolutely dumbfounded by the childish behavior of the man before him. What amazed Canada the most was how Raven was not taking him seriously, even though Raven was the one who requested his soul just the other day. Now who is the hilarious one?

"What do you even want anyway, since it's obvious you don't care how I'm feeling. So are you going to request my soul again or something? What is the deal with that anyway?"

Raven perked up at his favorite word. "Right. That. Forget about it for now. But you're wrong. I am _very _concerned about your feelings," He drawled in a mocking tone. Then he proceeded to burst into another fit of giggles.

"If you're just going to make fun of me, then why don't we talk about you? Why are you here anyway? You got stranded, right?"

"Hmm? Yeah, something like that." He dismissed the vague answer by waving his hand through the air, curling his lip as he grinned.

_What's with the sudden personality change? _Canada thought,_ Now he's just acting like a little kid. He gave the impression of being sophisticated earlier._

Raven's face suddenly fell and his eyebrow twitched. His voice was robotic and monotone as he spoke, "I humbly apologize for my behavior. That was certainly uncalled for. If you need anyone to talk to, you know where to find me."

With that he left, examining the mud stains on his shirt and cursing himself for it, not taking a single glance back at Canada.

As he disappeared into the darkness, Canada stared in disbelief. He hoped that Raven was still just a figment of his imagination. He supposed he could ask the others at the beach if they had seen the mysterious man as well, but for the chance that they could remember something like that, he needed to save them from dehydration.


	5. Chapter 5: Out of Time

"Hey America, we should be dead by now, shouldn't we?" England kicked a shell in front of him, continuing to kick it as he walked, being careful not to use so much force that it shattered. America walked beside him, ankle deep in ocean water. He jumped a little when England spoke. It was the first time in the hour that they had been walking along the shore together that either of them had said a word.

"Why do you say that?"

"We've gone about a week without water. That should kill us, especially with this heat sucking us dry."

America wiped a bead of sweat from his forehead. He really was sweating out whatever water he had left in his body. He glanced over at England, who had his hands in his pockets and his head down, not taking his eyes off of the sand. America sighed, "Well, we are nations after all."

"Then how long do you think it would take for us to die?"

America stopped in his tracks. 'Death' was not something he wanted to discuss casually as they strolled.

England also stopped and finally peeled his eyes away from the ground, looking directly into America's eyes. "We aren't going to survive here. You do know that right?"

America laughed and rubbed his neck, "What are you talking about? Of course we'll survive! We're nations. Did you forget even after I just told you?"

England glared at him, "Nations can die. They have in the past, and they can in the future."

"I'm the hero, remember? Heroes protect their friends… make sure they live. So as long as I'm here, there's nothing to worry about!" America gave a thumbs-up, smiling as naturally as he could manage.

"Look, America. Please think about this rationally, would you? There's no water here. No food. We have a schizophrenic person trapped on this island with us and who knows when he will snap? We're going to die on this island. You know that, don't you? You aren't as stupid as you act."

"We could build a raft, and get off the island, can't we?"

"Do you know how far out in the ocean we were when the boat

sank? We were probably swept out further into the middle of the ocean with the storm. It would be no use. We would have a better chance here, where at least we have dry land and shade."

"It doesn't matter then, does it?!" America shouted, "So what! Are you just going to accept this fate? What happened to the England that refused to give up just a few days ago? Hell, you were even yelling at all of us for the same reason I'm yelling at you now! What changed?"

"Nothing's changed." England turned his back to America, "But now I understand our reality."

America grabbed England's shoulders and spun him around, "You're the smart one aren't you? Why don't you understand that nothing is set in stone? We can change our situation! But we can't do that if no one works together. All we've been doing since we got here was sit on our butts all day and wait for rescue. If that's how we plan on surviving, then yes, we are definitely going to die! But why haven't we done anything? We don't even have any shelter yet! How are we going to survive if we don't even try?"

England slumped back, taking his time to find an answer, but he didn't have one. Why _wasn't _he out every day looking for food and water? He should have at least thought about shelter by now, shouldn't he? What was wrong with him? But it was just that on this desolate and forsaken island, the knowledge that they couldn't even so much as find a fruit tree drained his hope. It wasn't that he hadn't tried, it was that this island had nothing to offer him.

"We did try. We searched every square inch of this island and found nothing. There are no fruit trees, no animals, no water…" England furiously kicked at the water. "No hope."

"Well that kid…. What's his name?" America looked to England for help remembering, but England just looked as lost as he was, "Anyway, he says he's been on this island as long as we have, and he's still alive. He has to have found something."

"Even if he did find something, he wouldn't tell us. He's not even telling us who he is, let alone how he got here. Why would he share how he survived?"

"He _is_ telling us how who he is, and how he got here. Or… at least what he _thinks_ is the case…"

"Exactly, which means he's crazy and therefore probably wouldn't even know how he survived anyway."

America thought about the dream where he and the blonde boy were drowning. He had recognized him, like he was a good friend. He couldn't recall any memories of him, but America just felt like he knew the boy well enough to be his brother. "I think he's telling the truth."

England scoffed, "You're joking." When America shook his head, England laughed, genuinely amused, "And why exactly do you believe this?"

America couldn't think of any reason other than his dream to think that the blonde boy was telling the truth. He just stood tall and stared at England, not willing to share the honest reason why he felt the way he did.

"I take back what I said earlier. You really are as stupid as you act." With that, England walked back to the group, who appeared as little black specks on the horizon. America didn't budge, still lost in thought, trying to think of a good reason to believe that the blonde boy wasn't insane.

xxx

"How did you get on this island again?" Prussia asked as he tossed a shell into the water.

Canada sat next to where Prussia was standing, waist deep in the ocean, his skin prickling from the chill of the ice cold water. "I told you, I came with you guys on the boating trip. I was with you when the boat sank, and I was with you when we found this island. I've been here this entire time."

Prussia laughed and sat down next to Canada, who tried to push his friend back onto his feet, "Don't sit in the water! You'll catch a cold!"

Despite Canada's protests, Prussia didn't move. "You're sitting in the water though, so won't you catch a cold too?"

"Well… err…"

Prussia patted Canada's back, "Obviously if you aren't getting sick from being in the water, I won't get sick either." Canada blushed, too embarrassed to say anything. "So tell me something," Prussia continued, "How do you know about our boating accident? Everyone said that they didn't tell you about it." He thought for a minute, then gave a crooked smile, "You've been stalking us having you?"

Canada waved his hands to protest, "I haven't, I promise! I would never-"

"No... not 'us'. You've been stalking the awesomeness that is myself! Of course! You could have approached me sooner you know." Prussia winked, nudging Canada with his elbow.

Canada sighed and looked around, ignoring the awkward direction that this conversation was going. Russia and China were sitting under a tree, China's head on Russia's shoulder as he slept. Russia was staring at the sunset, looking a little irritated. Germany and Italy were talking to each other by the water, far enough away from the group that Canada couldn't hear what they were saying. Surprisingly, Italy was scowling. France and Japan were sitting next to each other, staring at the horizon where America and England were walking. Both looked worried for their fellow nations, and Canada couldn't blame them. None of them had much strength, but England seemed so much more fatigued than the others. It was a mystery how he could walk with America for such a long time.

"Nothing? Not even a smile?" Prussia poked Canada's shoulder, "Man, you don't have a sense of humor."

Canada chuckled, "Really? I'm usually told the opposite."

"Well isn't that a mystery."

Canada offered a slight smile and stared into the crystal clear water. He watched as the shells were swept out to sea by the tide, wishing he could go with them.

"You there?" Prussia waved his hand in front of Canada's face, "I was kidding. Don't look so sad."

Confused, Canada cocked his head to the side, "I look sad?" Prussia nodded. "Oh, well, I'm not. Sorry."

"Good. I didn't believe you were sad anyway. It's impossible to be sad in my presence!"

Canada forced a laugh. "Right."

After a moment of silence, Prussia continued, "So… you were here all by yourself?"

Canada tried not tolet out an exasperated sigh, "Like I said-"

"You're still sticking to that story?" Canada didn't respond. "I don't know what happened to you, but…" Prussia stopped before saying anything he would regret. He didn't want to sound pushy, but at the same time… "We all need whatever it was that has kept you alive. I mean, we may look a lot stronger than we are, but I don't think anyone here has very much time left, if you know what I mean."

Canada stood up, not bothering to look at Prussia. "Fine, I'll see what I can do. But I'm not making any promises."

Prussia jumped to his feet, grinning from ear to ear. "If you can do this for us, I promise you'll be almost as awesome as I am!"

"Sure." Canada started for the jungle,knowing exactly what he needed to do.

Tripping over his own feet, Canada forced his way through the thick shrubbery and trees of the jungle. After what seemed about two hours of walking around aimlessly, he finally stumbled upon a cliffside with an opening just tall enough for him to walk through without grazing his head on the ceiling of the cave.. _I hope this is the right one…_ Canada thought to himself desperately, and stepped warily into opening, escaping into the darkness that seemed forevermore.

xxx

"I'm not letting this go anymore." Germany crossed his arms over his chest. "You don't have to tell anyone but me, if that'll make you feel better, but you are hiding something and that isn't fair to any of us."

"You won't tell anyone?" Italy inquired. He had been arguing with Germany for such a long time, so he was ready to consider a compromise.

Germany thought about it for a minute, wondering what the best answer would be. If the secret turned out to be something crucial, he would probably have to tell the others anyway, so he didn't want to make any promises. "We'll see." He offered.

Italy stood up straighter, trying not to be intimidated. "I can't tell you then."

"Italy…" Germany wasn't going to back down this time. "What is so bad that you can't tell me?" He tried to say this as softly as possible, while still remaining assertive.

Italy didn't answer. He just looked away, not able to stand Germany's stare anymore.

"Whatever it is, I can at least promise that I'll be your friend, no matter what." He held out his pinky to confirm his promise, but Italy didn't move and Germany retracted his hand.

"What if…" Italy began, but he choked on his words.

"Yes?"

"I… What if I… err… Would you still be my friend if…"

Germany grunted, "Just spit it out."

"What if… I… I'm so tired…" Italy's eyes drooped. He didn't quite know how to ask this without saying it directly.

"Yes… You can take a nap after you finish your sentence." Germany reassured, losing his patience.

"That's not what I meant." Italy's face turned red and he bit his lip, wishing he hadn't said anything in the first place.

Germany pinched the bridge of his nose and huffed, "What else could you possibly mean?"

"I mean… I might not have much time left."

"Again, Italy, I have no idea what you're talking about."

Italy genuinely thought about telling Germany the truth. It's not that he _wanted _to lie, it was just that he had to, whether he wanted to or not. He finally looked back at Germany. "I can't tell you what I was going to say, I'm sorry. But can you answer a question for me?"

"I'll only answer your question if you tell me what you are hiding." At this point Germany had stopped trying to sound reassuring.

Italy smiled, "I can't do that, but just hear me out, okay? I'm sorry we've been spending all this time fighting. So I was wondering if even though I can't tell you my secret, you would still be my friend."

Germany's face flushed, "Didn't I just tell you that I would be your friend, no matter what?"

Italy bounced on his heels and beamed, "Ve~!"

_"Now"_, Italy thought, _"I can leave with a clear conscience."_


End file.
